with the team, she led all catchers with 141 assists, which also is an all-time record. Besides this, Lessing improved her offensive numbers with a .215 average, 43 runs and 35 RBI, and was selected to the All-Star Team. Managed by Johnny Rawlings, Grand Rapids finished 71–41 and advanced to the playoffs, only to be beaten by Rockford in the first round, three-to-two. Lessing became one of two hundred players to attend the first AAGPBL spring training outside the United States, which was held in 1947 in Cuba at the Gran Stadium de La Habana. With deliveries changing from underhand (or, underarm; compare pitching in softball) to sidearm in that season, the work of Lessing behind the plate was an instrumental part of the success for the pitching staff. She caught splendidly, giving her pitchers confidence and stability by calling the game and instigating defensive plays on the field. Lessing also contributed with her bat, hitting .205 with 24 runs and 42 RBI in 111 games, while earning a second selection to the All-Star Team. The Chicks went 65–47 and made the playoffs for the second consecutive year. In the first round, the team defeated the South Bend Blue Sox in five games, and won the Championship Title behind Mildred Earp, who pitched a 1–0 shutout against the Belles in decisive Game 7. In 1948, Lessing set another all-time record, appearing in 125 games behind the plate in the regular season. She also posted career-numbers in hits (86), runs (43) and RBI (36), while hitting a .206 average and making her third and last All-Star Team, helping the Chicks win the Eastern Section with a 77–47 record. In the postseason, Grand Rapids defeated South Bend in five games but was swept by Fort Wayne in three games during the second round. After playing 44 games in the 1949 season, Lessing suffered a career-ending shoulder injury. At the time, she was hitting .233 (28-for-120) with nine runs and nine RBI. Once her playing days were gone, Lessing returned to San Antonio, where she took a job at the Kelly Air Force Base. In 1991, she served as a technical adviser for filmmaker Penny Marshall during the shooting of her film A League of Their Own, which brought many of the real players began to earn a rebirth of celebrity with the first season of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Lessing,